'Thinking out of the 'box' is what I do. An Igbo adage said ''nkem di iche bu ajo afa''. I dont think that's true. Being different is the first step to a long lasting change.
Dare to be different, dare to think differently

Monday, 4 May 2015

Human beings are jealous beings by nature, a trait I’m
guessing, robbed off their creator (Who said without mincing words, ‘I Am a
jealous God’). Xenophobia’s history dates back to a very long time in human
history, as traces of it can be isolated from biblical stories (like killing of
Israelites male children in Egypt during their captive days because the
Egyptians were afraid they would revolt someday).

Xenophobia exists, suppressed, guarded in every human being.
There is always a repulsive force that curse within our subconscious on first
meeting a foreigner. Denying this subtle fact is denying the human nature
itself.

Xenophobia is not peculiar to South Africans as some people posit
because of the spate of killings going on in the region. We have heard of
people being attacked in various western worlds for no other reason than their
skin colour. There was a time in Nigerian history when they insisted that their
neighbours return to their country, an era that became engraved as the
nomenclature of one of the commonly used traveller’s bag. This too is
xenophobia. What is baffling is that skin colour is not the issue in South
Africa and the heinous act is carried out by ‘brothers’ against ‘brothers’ who
should on the contrary watch each other’s back. Yet still, I understand their
genuine plight behind the bloody mask.

I happen to be fortunate (maybe not) to domicile in a state
other than my state of origin. Born and brought up there doesn’t till date take
away my foreign identity from the eyes of the natives. I am also not oblivious
of the malign utterances made against my ethnic group such as (but not limited
to);

“Dey dey pack our money,”

“Dey don buy our land finish,”

“One day we will deal with them,”

“Na so dem dey behave, very stupid set of people”.

Xenophobic attack is not tied to killings alone. Government
policies where people from other states in the same country pay higher fees in
schools or are levied higher taxes in their businesses is xenophobic. This is
typical of Nigeria. This is Nigerians hating Nigerians on the basis of tribe.
The so-called ‘ONE NIGERIA’!

Luckily enough, Nigerians are very pretentious and enduring
people and with this behaviour we can keep pretending our way to peace. Sadly,
we shouldn't expect every race or country to imitate us so easily in the face
of glaring harsh realities.

This is in no way exonerating the senseless maiming of
fellow human beings in cold blood and looting their treasury, their show-off
for years of toil. There is a sharp attitudinal contrast I’ve over the years
observed between indigenes and settlers. The latter nurse great zeal towards
success and most verily put in their heart to their work while the former
expect everything to come to them at the click of fingers because, ‘NA THEM GET
THE LAND’ (You need to visit a government ministry to appreciate this fact).
This is not actually the case because success sees hard work and not faces.

When the natives fail and the foreigners progress, the
former conjure all sorts of savage excuses to boost their jealousy and justify
their subsequent actions. The foreigners take blame for the natives’ failures.

At this junction, I’ll like to press some questions on the
eyes of my South African friends clamouring that the foreigners have rendered
them jobless;

1)Are you aware that your natives are in other
countries and that your actions endanger their lives?

2)Will killing foreigners and ruining their
businesses increase your chances of making wealth?

3)The jobs you are agitating for, i)
Who created them? Natives or foreigners? ii)
If natives, why would they prefer to hire a foreigner and not a native?

My little knowledge on entrepreneurship reveals to me that
there are two things that would make a business owner not to employ the
services of a job seeker and these are INCOMPETENCE and OVERPRICING. The first
I guess is self-explanatory but the technical second has to do with ‘are your
demands in pari passu with your estimated input?’ Employers will always seek a
cheaper alternative.

That said, it is my humble opinion that South Africans seek
to develop themselves with more studying and travelling to other countries (I
would suggest an exchange programme between their schools and various other
countries which will help their younger generation tolerate other cultures
better) rather than venting their frustration on innocent souls.

Lastly, I appeal to Nigerians (and various other
countries being attacked) not to be hasty in boycotting businesses in their
country belonging to South African natives. Consider the massive unemployment
this would create in a nation already raped sour by the brutal hands of
unemployment. After all said and done, who gains?

About Me

My name is Anthony Emecheta l Enthusiastic writer l Not award winning anything l One failed attempt at a novella publication l Freelance writer, but don't expect me to do it for free l Trust me to always talk about what people don't want to talk about.